Judge Orders Nick Gordon to Pay $36M in Bobbi Kristina Brown Civil Case
Gordon was found civilly liable for Brown's death back in September.
— -- An Atlanta judge has ordered Nick Gordon to pay approximately $36 million to Bobbi Kristina Brown's estate after he was found civilly liable for her death, a Fulton County Superior Court official confirmed to ABC News. Brown died in July 2015. She was 22.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge T. Jackson Bedford Jr. ruled back in September that Gordon was liable by default after he failed to appear in court for the second time in the wrongful death civil suit brought by Brown's estate, according to The Associated Press and paperwork obtained by ABC News.
Gordon didn't appear in court Thursday either, although Bobbi Kristina Brown's father, R&B singer Bobby Brown, appeared in court to testify.
After the judgment was handed down, Bobby Brown released a statement to ABC News.
"I am pleased with the outcome of today’s court proceedings. I do know that Mr. Gordon will be unable to slander my daughter’s name in the future or obtain any benefits from the use of Krissy’s name," he said in part.
In his statement, Bobby Brown also addressed the fact that no criminal charges have been filed against Gordon or anyone else in Bobbi Kristina Brown's death, according to The AP.
"Finally, I do need for the District Attorney’s Office to step up and begin the criminal prosecution of Mr. Gordon," Bobby Brown said in a statement. "The delay in that matter is of great concern to me and my family. We need for [Fulton County] District Attorney [Paul] Howard [Jr.] to act now."
Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, died in July 2015 after being found unresponsive in her Roswell, Georgia, home months earlier.
She was found face down in her bathtub by Gordon and her friend Max Lomas on Jan. 31, 2015, according to local police. A completed autopsy this past March stated that Bobbi Kristina Brown died from "lobar pneumonia" due to being immersed “in water, complicating mixed drug intoxication."
Bobbi Kristina Brown was found to have marijuana, alcohol, medications for sedation and morphine in her system at the time of her death, according to the autopsy report.
Bobbi Kristina Brown's estate hit Gordon with the civil suit in June 2015, according to the paperwork obtained by ABC News.
The lawsuit claimed Gordon fraudulently depicted himself as her husband in 2014 to "limit whom she could interact" with, and that he stole funds from her and transferred them into his own account. It also accused him of domestic violence. Gordon has denied all these allegations.
The suit was amended in August 2015 after her death, alleging that Gordon gave Bobbi Kristina Brown a "toxic cocktail" and placed her in a bathtub full of cold water the day she was found unconscious. Gordon's legal team responded at the time, calling the amended lawsuit "slanderous and meritless."
Though Bobbi Kristina Brown and Gordon claimed they were married on social media and to the press, the claim was later found to be untrue. The two were living together, however.
In September 2015, Gordon filed to have the civil suit thrown out, calling the claims "false" and "frivolous,” according to the paperwork.
ABC News has reached out to Gordon's legal team, which has not immediately responded to a request for comment.
Related Topics
